Beetroot: Forono and Boro F1

Lots of beet to pick. The Forono surprised me by growing rather quickly this year, and being ready the same time as new variety Boro, despite being sown later. The trouble with Forono is that the long roots are particularly prone to slug damage, so cannot be left too long. Unlike newer varieties, it can be prone to being woody if left too long. So far, so good, but there's an awful lot of beetroot sandwiches to get through!

Actually, we have been experimenting with roasting beet along with other vegetables. It take quite a long time, and is prone to bleed a little, but is an excellent addition to the roasting tray.

Beetroot: sowings

We eat a lot of beetroot so I've dedicated a whole bed to it, with sowings at 2-3 week intervals beginning in early March which will hopefully provide a succession of roots which will keep us in beet until the early spring of next year.

Interestingly, the sowings made in April have caught up with those made in March, and all are now bulking up at more or less the same time (all the same cultivar, Red Ace). I sowed some in 'the Tardis' greenhouse in early March. The ones that survived lack of watering in there matured no earlier than those sown in the open ground. Next year I will try sowing under glass much earlier, as it would be nice to have beetroot a little earlier.

The latest rows are Boro, and an ancient packet of Forono, expiry date 2003 which germinated with unexpected vigour!

Beetroot: Red Ace F1

I used to grow mostly Boltardy, which I bought in bulk quantities as it is cheap and very reliable (plus a couple of rows of the cylindrical variety Forono for winter use) but this year I've decided to trial other varieties and see if the quality is better.

I've planted mostly Red Ace F1 at fortnightly successions starting in March, and pulled the first baby beet a couple of weeks ago. T&M describe it as having 'high quality roots with a dark red colour'. Taste is good; growth and germination were good too. It's supposed to be drought tolerant, so it will be interesting to see how later sowings get on. 

The other variety I'm trying for the first time is Boro (F1) (which looked like a monogerm when it appeared though not described as such).